ParaPer4mance, led by Kennith Keitt of Penn State Lehigh Valley, won an entrepreneurial pitch-off at the inaugural Lehigh Valley Collegiate Business Pitch Summit at Ben Franklin TechVentures at the end of April. (MORNING CALL FILE PHOTO)

PSU's ParaPer4mance wins regional competition

ParaPer4mance, led by Kennith Keitt of Penn State Lehigh Valley, won an entrepreneurial pitch-off at the inaugural Lehigh Valley Collegiate Business Pitch Summit at Ben Franklin TechVentures at the end of April. Loop, led by Kira Gobes and Kelsie Strobel of Lehigh University, was the second-place team. Students from Alvernia University, Lafayette College, Lehigh Carbon Community College, Lehigh University, Muhlenberg College, and Penn State Lehigh Valley competed in this LVTech organization event.

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Participating students presented their ideas and strategic business plans to entrepreneurs, investors, business leaders and other students from the greater Lehigh Valley community. Business plan competitions are a key part of entrepreneurship education, providing students with opportunities to develop and practice pitches.

Humanitarian Social Innovations of Bethlehem has announced Overcoming Odds, a newly sponsored organization that aims to make the adoption adjustment easier for both parents and child through a software program and web platform that will connect adoptees and adoptive parents with others like them as well as with cultural and professional resources. An important component of this platform is that it will collect and archive people's stories of adoption in an effort to create a greater voice for change.

Overcoming Odds is a way to make positive improvements to the adoption process worldwide. Some of the problems it plans on tackling are adoptees' trauma from leaving their past life, identity struggles and education for those in all areas of the adoption process.

Overcoming Odds will implement two phases to reach its goal. First, it will grow a strong community. Then it will launch its software program that allows for a direct connection and a more successful transition period. The partnership between Humanitarian Social Innovations and Overcoming Odds will enable them to access grant funds to fuel their vision to aid the adoption process on both sides and bring stability to adoptive families worldwide.

Steelhouse Abstract recently opened its doors to bring expert title insurance and title policy services to buyers, sellers, builders and developers across the Lehigh Valley region.

Founded by 20-year industry veteran and CEO Robin Mancuso DeLuna, Steelhouse is a family-owned title company built on the core values of strength, history and experience. Steelhouse is focused on delivering a smooth transaction process from start to finish for each and every client.